PlantSowGrow
How to grow Ginger
Zingiber officinale
Grow your own fresh, juicy ginger from a supermarket root. A lush, bamboo-like plant for a warm windowsill or greenhouse.
At a glance: Sow mid February to early April, harvest from mid September.
When to sow, plant and harvest
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Ginger: what it needs
- Light
- Part shade · 4+ hours a day
- Watering
- Keep just moist; never waterlogged. Mist leaves in dry rooms
- Soil
- Free-draining multipurpose compost
- Spacing
- One rhizome per 30 cm pot
- Height
- 60–90 cm
- In pots
- Grows well in containers
- Feeding
- Liquid feed every two weeks while in leaf
- Harvest
- About 210 days from sowing
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 9–11
Step by step
- Mid February – early April · 9 weeks before the last spring frost
Plant the Rhizome
Soak a plump, shop-bought organic rhizome overnight, then lay it 3–5 cm deep in a wide pot of multipurpose compost, buds facing up. Keep warm (20–25°C) and only just moist.
- 21–56 days after “Plant the Rhizome” · Early March – mid April
Look for Shoots
Shoots can take a month or more to appear. Once they do, move the pot to bright light (not scorching sun) and water more often.
- 60–90 days after “Look for Shoots” · Early May – early June
Move Outside for Summer (Optional) (optional)
From early summer, a sheltered, warm spot outdoors is fine; bring the pot in before nights drop below 10°C.
- 210–270 days after “Plant the Rhizome” · Mid September – mid November
Harvest
When leaves start to yellow in autumn, tip out the pot and break off what you need. Young "stem ginger" can be picked earlier.
- 0–14 days after “Harvest” · Mid September – late September
Store and Replant
Keep a piece with buds in barely damp compost somewhere warm (above 12°C) to start again next spring.
